Clarence Valley Orchestra Tour to Norfolk Island 13-18 April 2023

SO often, when we are pressed for an explanative for things that truly impress us, whether it be at a football match or a business meeting, we’ll often say, “That was poetry in motion.” Equally, during the aftermath of observing someone ‘getting theirs’ we’ll add, “Wasn’t that poetic justice!”

Clearly, the influences of poetry in our daily lives manifest in ways more often than we realise. And yet, poetry in itself is one of the most underconsidered, if not outright dismissed modes of expression there is. None other than John Keats once said, “Poetry should surprise by a fine excess and not by singularity—it should strike the reader as a wording of their own highest thoughts, and appear almost a remembrance.”

And clearly, the aim of not just the finest poetry but poetry of any kind is to be memorable, memorable to the point of being utterly unforgettable. Great poetry shapes and moulds the minds and spirits of people, all whilst occupying a place of held reverence in the very soul of nations. Or as Salvatore Quasimodo deeply felt, “The poet’s spoken discourse often depends on a mystique, on the spiritual freedom that finds itself enslaved on earth.”

Relatedly, the Nobel Prize-winning poet Odysseus Elytis once enthused, “Poetry should express the apex, should constitute a kind of pioneering outpost in the unexplored area of life, should precede other arts in the depiction of sensitivity. It should be the word and sword intervening in the spirit, so that matter, docile, can follow.”

Because when poetry leads, the sublime and that which is truly refined are sure to follow. Some of the most impressive poems ever written have been penned under duress, during dark periods of turmoil, trial and suffering. The American civil war poet Walt Whitman is someone who comes to mind; not to mention Wilfred Owen, the WWI soldier who wrote some of the most haunting phrases in Western literature, all whilst fighting on the frontline.

Without poetry, the human being becomes the absolute walking embodiment of its archaic relative – the grunting, stunted and self-want serving Neanderthal. It is poetry that enables a person’s sense of life to expand, and their soul to soar beyond all confines and limitations. Similarly, Jose Saramago once noted, “Poets often begin at the horizon, for that is the shortest path to the heart.”

On the topic of shortest paths to the heart, I remember being struck first hand by how the influence of poets reach way beyond their own lifetimes. Whilst in Paris some years ago I visited the grave of Charles Baudelaire, and was touched by the scarlet red lipstick kiss that someone had just planted on the headstone of his grave. It somehow symbolised for mine the affection, loyalty and deep intrigue that great poets generate long after they are gone.

In the very least, one reason why we ought to invite poetry into the very inner sanctum of our minds is to always heed Salman Rushdie’s veiled plea, “A poet’s work is to name the unnameable, to point at frauds, to take sides, start arguments, shape the world, and stop it from going to sleep.”

The Clarence Valley Orchestra (CVO) is thrilled to announce their upcoming concert tour to Norfolk Island in April 2023. After eight years of successful concerts in the Saraton Theatre Grafton and regional areas of New South Wales, the orchestra is excited to spread their success abroad and perform on an island that has never experienced the sound of a 40-piece orchestra before.

CVO’s conductor, Greg Butcher, said, “We’re looking forward to this unique opportunity to perform on Norfolk Island. The orchestra will be slightly reduced in size, but we’re still excited to bring our music to the island.” The orchestra was formed in 2014 to provide large-scale community entertainment with around 40-50 members at each concert. The

Let volunteer membership is comprised of amateur musicians, young music students, qualifed music teachers, semiprofessional and professional musicians of all ages, from the Clarence Valley, Coffs Harbour, Lismore and Casino regions. The orchestra has also welcomed guest musicians and old friends. It has become the musical fagship of the Clarence Valley and promotes classical music and popular entertainment on a grand scale. CVO has performed with a variety of guest artists, including international pianists David Helfgott and Simon Tedeschi, actor Nicholas Hammond (from the original motion picture The Sound of Music), celebrity vocalists Rhonda Burchmore, Denis Walter and Monica Trapaga, and Queensland Opera stars such as Baritone vocalist Jason Barry-Smith and Soprano Dominique Fegan. Profts from the concerts are donated to registered charities or small scholarships for CVO members enrolled in university music programs, to help them further their musical careers.

Since the orchestra’s inception in 2014, over $75,000 has been donated to charity. The tour to Norfolk Island will include a special High Tea on Sunday 16th April, set in the grounds of the 5-star boutique waterfront property Forrester Court. Guests will enjoy fne food and music from the 1940s Glen Miller era to the 1980s Disco era and anything in between. The orchestra will also perform at a family fundraising concert in Rawson Hall, celebrating the Rotary Club of Norfolk Island’s 50th

Anniversary. This is the frst time the orchestra has left Australia’s mainland to perform, and they are eager to share the cultural exchange of the Clarence Valley with the people of Norfolk Island. The orchestra will play music from Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Harry Potter, Mozart and The Sound of Music, and they hope to collaborate with some island groups on a few pieces.

The Clarence Valley Orchestra is excited to bring their music to the people of Norfolk Island and share the unique experience of a 40-piece orchestra with them. This will be an unforgettable event for both the orchestra and the islanders, and the CVO looks forward to making the most of this incredible opportunity.